My father is Chongzhen? Then I have no choice but to rebel.

Chapter 134 Chongzhen: I just arrived in Shandong? The rebellion is quelled!

Along the way, Zhu Cilang was looking at Liangshan Marsh with curiosity, but to be honest, it was far from what he had imagined, and also a little different from what was described in the novel.

But think about it, the ancients always exaggerated in everything they did, which is normal.

Not long after, everyone arrived at the gathering hall of Liangshan Lake.

And it was obvious that Li Qingshan had made preparations in advance, as a table of banquet was already prepared.

But this banquet looks too ordinary, with only chicken, duck, fish and meat.

But this time it wasn't about eating, so Zhu Cilang didn't care.

Then, Zhu Cilang and Zheng Chenggong sat in the main seats, while Li Qingshan, military advisor Wang Linchen, and Grand Marshal Ai Shuangshuang sat beside them.

As for Li Ruolian and others, they were arranged to sit at the wine table outside the Juyi Hall.

But they didn't dare to drink and kept an eye on the situation in the Juyi Hall all the time.

If any accident happens, they will rush in immediately!

After the five dishes and three rounds of wine, Zheng Chenggong spoke first before Li Qingshan could speak.
"Great Chief, please speak directly if you have anything to say. If there is nothing else, we two brothers will take our leave. We still have to go to Jinan Prefecture to meet His Majesty and the Crown Prince!"

As Zheng Chenggong spoke, he raised his chin slightly, his eyes were somewhat nonchalant, yet seemed to hold a mystery.

His words were like a sudden thunderclap that made Lin Qingshan and the other three people stunned as if they were under a spell and could not move.

The wine glass in Li Qingshan's hand shook violently, and the wine almost spilled out. His fingers subconsciously clenched tightly, and his fingertips turned white.

"What did you say? The Emperor and the Crown Prince came to Shandong? This... How is this possible?"

After coming to his senses, Li Qingshan widened his eyes in disbelief, his eyes full of fear and surprise, and his voice trembled involuntarily.

Zheng Chenggong looked at Li Qingshan's out-of-control appearance and thought to himself that something was wrong.

You have to know that they had originally agreed to use the smashing of the cup as a signal. If Li Qingshan panicked and accidentally smashed the cup at this moment, Fang Zhenghua, Li Ruolian and others outside would definitely rush in directly.

By then, the situation will be out of control.

After all, the purpose of this trip is not to kill Li Qingshan, but to persuade him and his men to surrender!

Just when Zheng Chenggong wanted to say something to comfort Li Qingshan, he didn't expect that Li Qingshan actually forced himself to calm down, and finally put the wine glass in his hand back on the table tremblingly.

But his hands were still shaking like sieves, revealing his deep fear and anxiety.

Anyway, the cup didn't fall, so Zheng Chenggong breathed a sigh of relief.

The other two people did not drink, so their glasses were still on the table, but their reactions at this time were similar to Li Qingshan's.

Everyone was shaking violently.

"Master Zheng, are you telling the truth? Did His Majesty and the Crown Prince really come to Shandong?"

Then, Li Qingshan swallowed hard and asked again in a trembling voice.

Zheng Chenggong nodded as planned, and then said:

"Of course it's true. I came here precisely to meet His Majesty and the Crown Prince!"

When Li Qingshan heard this, he felt a buzzing sound in his head, as if he was hit hard by a heavy hammer, and he felt a little dazed.

He originally thought that the imperial court sending an army of 100,000 to encircle and suppress him would be a catastrophic disaster like the sky falling and the earth collapsing.

Unexpectedly, the emperor and the prince actually led the army to fight in person.

What does this make him do?
Military Advisor Wang Linchen and Grand Marshal Ai Shuangshuang beside him also looked ashen, as if their souls had been sucked out.

They originally still held on to a glimmer of hope, hoping for a turnaround and surrendering to the court to become a minor official. But now that the emperor has led the army in person, the situation is extremely bad, as if they have fallen into an abyss from which there is no escape.

After all, the emperor has led the army in person, which clearly means he wants to kill them. Can they really surrender at this time?

For a moment, the table suddenly fell into deathly silence.

And this was entirely within Zhu Cilang's plan.

If we don't let these guys despair first, then things will be difficult to unfold next.

Just when the atmosphere was so tense that it was almost suffocating, Zhu Cilang cleared his throat gently, then slowly asked:
"Captain, didn't you say earlier that you had something to discuss with us? What is it? Why not tell me now?"

Li Qingshan suddenly came to his senses, as if waking up from a nightmare.

Although it seemed that things were already a foregone conclusion, he still held a glimmer of hope in his heart.

So, he forced a bitter smile and said helplessly:

"To be honest, I rebelled because I was forced to do so."

"In recent years, Shandong has been hit by successive years of severe drought, leaving thousands of miles of land barren. Then, locusts swarmed everywhere. Wherever the locusts went, crops were destroyed, and the people were starving. The land was littered with corpses of starvation."

"It's like hell on earth, but even so, those black-hearted and unscrupulous merchants still take advantage of the situation and drive up prices without caring about the lives of the people."

"The price of grain, which normally costs less than 20 coins per pound, has been raised to 100 coins per pound. This is simply forcing the people into despair!"

"One time, I couldn't stand it any longer and wanted to help, but I ended up getting into a fight with the profiteer and ended up killing him by mistake."

"I had no choice but to become a bandit."

"Although I broke the law, I saved a lot of civilians, preventing them from starving to death on the streets. They still have a glimmer of hope in this chaotic world."

"We were originally looking for an opportunity to surrender to the imperial court, but who would have thought that the imperial court would send a hundred thousand troops to wipe us out without a word."

"Now that even His Majesty and the Crown Prince have come here in person, I wonder if the court is still willing to accept our surrender!"

At this point, Li Qingshan's eyes were filled with sadness and despair, and his voice became hoarse and low.

Military advisor Wang Linchen and Grand Marshal Ai Shuangshuang were also filled with despair, as if they would be beheaded in the next moment.

Zhu Cilang looked at Li Qingshan and others carefully without any expression. After confirming that they really wanted to surrender, he began to plan the next step.

After a moment, Zhu Cilang slowly said:

"If the court is willing to accept your surrender, what official position would you like?"

When Li Qingshan heard this, a bitter smile appeared on his face, but he still said:
"When it comes to official positions, the imperial court naturally has the final say."

"However, if I could really choose, I would like to stay and serve near Liangshan Lake. It's not that I still want to rebel, but I know myself well."

"If my brothers and I were to fight against Li Zicheng and the Jiannu, we would only cause trouble for the imperial court."

"It would be better to take my brothers and contribute to the imperial court in the grain transport."

"To be honest, I've put in quite a bit of effort studying the canal transportation and have accumulated quite a bit of experience."

"Although I can't guarantee that there won't be any trouble, I can manage it with ease and won't disappoint the court."

After Li Qingshan finished speaking, Zhu Cilang's mouth corners slightly raised, revealing an imperceptible smile, and he had already made up his mind.

Then he spoke again:

"In that case, I will appoint you as a Third-Rank Lieutenant General of the Canal Transport, and your brothers will also be appointed as Guerrilla Generals, Commanders, Garrison Commanders, and other positions under the battalion."

"From now on, this section of the grain transport in Shandong will be under your management. Officially, you will still be under the jurisdiction of the Grain Transport Governor."

"But in reality, you only need to obey my orders. Do you understand?"

Since ancient times, surrendered ministers have often been treated differently and may even rebel again.

In order to completely put an end to such incidents, Zhu Cilang planned to first bring Li Qingshan's troops under the wing of the Eastern Palace, so that no one would dare to trouble them again.

At the same time, when Li Qingshan heard that he could become a third-rank lieutenant general, his eyes lit up instantly, full of surprise and hope.

You have to know that this is a third-rank official!
He didn't even dare to dream of such a high official position!
But before he could be happy for too long, he suddenly came to his senses.

etc.
Why are you so happy?

These words were not said by the emperor or the prince, but by Zheng Zhilong's son. Even if he was the prince's brother-in-law, how could he make such a decision?

For a moment, Li Qingshan's heart sank again.

Zhu Cilang seemed to see through his thoughts and smiled slightly:

"I know what you are thinking, but I can tell you that I can make the decision on this matter."

Li Qingshan still had no big expression on his face, as if he still didn't believe what Zhu Cilang said, nor did he notice that Zhu Cilang called himself "this palace".

But the military advisor Wang Linchen next to him seemed to have noticed something at this moment, and his eyes were full of disbelief.

At the same time, Zheng Chenggong also realized that Zhu Cilang was about to reveal his cards.

Then he stood up suddenly, his movements were sharp and decisive, and shouted loudly to Li Qingshan and the others:
"Li Qingshan, this is the current Crown Prince!"

"Why don't you kneel down?"

Li Qingshan and others were struck by lightning when they heard this, and stood still for a moment.

Immediately afterwards, the cup in his hand fell to the ground with a bang and shattered into pieces.

The crisp sound was particularly harsh in the silent room.

At this moment, Fang Zhenghua and others outside also heard the sound of the cup breaking. They thought something had happened inside and their faces suddenly changed.

Then, without saying a word, everyone overturned the table with their hands, drew their swords at their waists in the blink of an eye, and rushed straight to the Liangshan Gathering Hall!

Li Qingshan's subordinates had no idea what was going on and were all at a loss.

We were chatting happily just now, how come we suddenly became hostile?

But soon, they came to their senses, and then someone shouted:
"Brothers, these guys are going to fight against the big boss, go and save the big boss!"

Afterwards, Li Qingshan's subordinates chased after him aggressively.

In a moment, more people responded, shouting one after another, deafening, and rushed to the Liangshan Gathering Hall

The scene returns to Zhu Cilang.

Before Li Qingshan and others could recover from the shock, they saw a group of murderous people rushing in with shining knives.

Li Qingshan finally reacted and his face turned pale with fright, and all the drunkenness disappeared in an instant.

He felt his legs go weak, like two noodles, and he almost collapsed to the ground. Of course, he was not frightened by the scene, but by Zhu Cilang's identity.

It was at this moment that Li Qingshan's subordinates also rushed in, and the scene instantly became extremely chaotic, as if a fight was about to break out in the next moment.

But Zhu Cilang remained calm and composed, because when things really got out of control, he could only kill people to establish his authority.

At the same time, Zheng Chenggong looked at the chaotic scene with his brows tightly furrowed into the shape of a "川" character.

He turned around and scolded Li Qingshan:

"Li Qingshan, you refused to kneel before His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and even ordered your subordinates to engage in combat. Do you really want to rebel?"

As he spoke, he winked at the people next to him.

Those people understood immediately and quickly pulled open their shirts, revealing a flying fish suit embroidered with exquisite flying fish patterns.

Combined with the embroidered spring swords in their hands, the momentum seemed to be able to intimidate everything.

Li Qingshan finally woke up as if from a dream, as if he was forcibly pulled out of a chaotic dream.

The next second, he knelt down in front of Zhu Cilang with a plop, shouting tremblingly:
"The guilty commoner Li Qingshan pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Behind him, the military advisor Wang Linchen and the Grand Marshal Ai Shuangshuang also knelt on the ground and shouted tremblingly:

"The criminal, the criminal Wang Linchen, pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

"The criminal Ai Shuangshuang pays homage to His Royal Highness the Crown Prince!"

Their voices were filled with fear and awe, as if their teeth were chattering as they spoke.

When they saw this scene, the subordinates who rushed in were stunned.

Not
What's going on?

How come out of nowhere, their boss, military advisor, and grand marshal all knelt down before that young man?
And still call him the prince?

At this moment, Zhu Cilang finally spoke again.

"Everyone, get up! Li Qingshan, Ai Shuangshuang, and Wang Linchen stay, everyone else get out."

His voice was not loud, but it revealed an irresistible majesty, as if there was an invisible force that made everyone obey his orders involuntarily.

Li Qingshan stood up tremblingly, and shouted at his subordinates who had just rushed in with a frightened look on their faces:

"Get the hell out of here!"

"If anyone dares to barge in again without the Crown Prince's order, I will kill him!"

The subordinates still looked confused and had no idea what was going on.

But seeing his boss getting angry, he didn't dare to ask any more questions and retreated in a daze.

Li Ruolian and Fang Zhenghua were watching this dramatic scene and didn't know what to say for a moment.

They thought there would be a fierce fight, but they didn't expect that this group of people would retreat so easily.

Zhu Cilang acted as if nothing had happened and said to Li Qingshan calmly:

"What I said before is true. If you lead your people to surrender, your previous sins will be forgiven. I will also promote you to the rank of Lieutenant General, and your brothers will also receive rewards."

"However, you must restore the canal transportation to normal as soon as possible."

"In addition to this, you will also be responsible for the losses caused by your previous attack on the state capital. Do you understand?"

When Li Qingshan heard this, he quickly nodded in agreement.

At the same time, he was secretly thinking that he had accumulated a lot of money from robbing counties and prefectures recently, so it wouldn't be too much of a loss to give some of it as an atonement.

After all, I am going to be an official, so all these efforts are worth it.

Zhu Cilang paused and continued:

"Also, the three of you must go with me to see the emperor. This is non-negotiable."

When Li Qingshan heard this, his heart shuddered and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead.

He raised his head and asked cautiously:

"May I ask, Your Highness, how will His Majesty deal with us?"

Although he had surrendered to the prince, Li Qingshan was still very afraid. After all, the emperor was much older than the prince. If the emperor still wanted to kill them, the prince might not be able to stop him!

Zhu Cilang noticed his worry, smiled slightly, and said with a relaxed look:
"Don't worry, my opinion is the Emperor's opinion. Since you have surrendered, I will not blame you for this matter!"

"As for why the emperor wants to see you, it's your fault."

"Who told you to call yourselves the heroes of Liangshan and compare the current emperor to the Song Dynasty's fallen emperor, Emperor Huizong? The emperor was furious when he heard about it and he was determined to whip you!"

"As long as I can survive these few whippings, this matter will be completely over!"

When Li Qingshan heard this, he was stunned at first, then he breathed a sigh of relief, and a feeling of relief surged in his heart.

I originally thought that I would be punished for meeting the emperor, but I didn't expect that I would only be whipped a few times.

To him, getting a few whips in exchange for the rank of lieutenant general was like a pie in the sky!

After coming to their senses, Li Qingshan and the others quickly knelt on the ground again, saying in fear and trepidation:
"I am a sinner who is ignorant and has offended Your Majesty. I am willing to accept Your Majesty's punishment!"

When they spoke, there was a hint of relief in their tone for having survived the disaster.

Zhu Cilang nodded, then seemed to remember something and said:

"By the way, you still have to accompany me to perform a big show."

Li Qingshan looked up at Zhu Cilang with a bewildered expression, his heart full of doubts, wondering what the Crown Prince was going to do next.

But in the end he didn't ask anything, just lowered his head silently, waiting for Zhu Cilang's next arrangements.

That afternoon, the people brought by Zhu Cilang entered Liangshan Marsh in an orderly manner.

Zhu Cilang also changed into a gorgeous and solemn dragon robe, making him look even more majestic and noble, as if he had an innate aura of a king.

At the same time, the large force in Jinan, Shandong received an urgent order.

They reorganized their army overnight, and at daybreak, they marched towards Liangshan Marsh in a mighty force.

Along the way, shouts of killing shook the sky, military flags fluttered, and they happened to "meet" the troops led by Li Qingshan halfway, and then the two sides launched a fierce "life and death battle".

So, on that very day, a piece of news spread across half of Shandong:
That is, the army sent by the court was unstoppable along the way and defeated the rebels led by Li Qingshan.

After killing 8,000 enemies, Li Qingshan was defeated and chose to surrender to the court!
The entire war lasted less than an hour!
In this way, the imperial court took less than an hour to completely wipe out Li Qingshan, who had 30,000 people!

Obviously, this is the big drama that Zhu Cilang talked about!
The reason why this play had to be performed was to show the people the majesty of the court and the strength of the army, so that the people knew that the court had the ability to protect them.

Secondly, it can also make those with bad intentions afraid to easily imitate the behavior of Li Qingshan and others, thus maintaining social stability.

In fact, this seemingly fierce battle did not cause any casualties.

Only a few unlucky ones broke their legs because they ran too fast.

In short, that afternoon, the imperial army took over the entire Liangshanpo without bloodshed, and everything went extremely smoothly.

It was as if this place had always been their territory.

A few days later, Chongzhen finally arrived in Jinan, Shandong.

At this moment, Zhu Cilang had already brought Li Qingshan, Ai Shuangshuang and Wang Linchen here waiting for Chongzhen's arrival.

After learning all this, Chongzhen was completely dumbfounded!
Not
I just arrived in Shandong, how did this rebellious son suppress the rebels?

Anyway, it's a good thing.

Zhu Cilang knew that with Chongzhen's violent temper, he might do something outrageous if he got angry.

So, he asked Li Qingshan and others to wait outside, while he went to say hello to Chongzhen.

Upon seeing Chongzhen, Zhu Cilang immediately reminded:
"Father, we agreed not to kill them. I've already promised Li Qingshan that he would be the Lieutenant General of the Shandong Canal Transport. Please don't do anything rash later!"

When Chongzhen heard this, he snorted and snatched an extremely thick leather whip from the Jinyiwei next to him with an impatient look on his face.

Then he sneered:
"Don't worry, what I said counts!"

Zhu Cilang then breathed a sigh of relief, but when he saw the whip in Chongzhen's hand, he couldn't help but secretly worry for Li Qingshan and others.

I wonder where Chongzhen found such a thick whip?

Then, Zhu Cilang turned his head and winked at Fang Zhenghua, indicating that Li Qingshan and the others should come in.

In a moment, Li Qingshan and the other two walked in tremblingly. Although they were worldly-wise, they were terrified to the extreme at this moment, and their steps became unsteady.

Then he looked up and saw a middle-aged man in a dragon robe with a dark face and waving a whip in his hand.

When they saw this scene, the three of them were so frightened that their legs went weak and they all knelt down with a plop.

They were not frightened by the whip, but by the aura of Chongzhen.

Li Qingshan's voice even changed, and he shouted tremblingly:

"Your humble servant, your humble servant Li Qingshan, pays homage to His Majesty the Emperor. Long live His Majesty the Emperor!"

The other two followed suit, banging their heads on the ground with a loud bang, their bodies shaking like sieves.

After all, at this moment, the person appearing in front of them is the emperor who holds the power of life and death over everyone!

Can they not be afraid?

Emperor Chongzhen glared at Li Qingshan and angrily cursed:
"You are such an ignorant person! How dare you start a rebellion! And you even dare to link me with Song Huizong, the king who lost his country! I really want to chop you into pieces!"

"If the prince hadn't stopped you, your heads would have been chopped off long ago!"

Li Qingshan was so frightened that he dared not even breathe. He quickly crouched even lower and said tremblingly:

"I know I am wrong. I deserve death. I beg Your Majesty to punish me."

Li Qingshan knew that he was bound to be beaten. The other two were so scared that they closed their eyes and waited for punishment.

Anyway, as long as they are not beaten to death, they will all make a lot of money!
(End of this chapter)